The Mosque of the Turks ( ar, جامع الترك), also known as ''Jemaa ettrouk'', is a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n historical

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

located in the center of Houmt Essouk in the island of

Djerba Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 a ...

Location

The mosque is located in Houmt Essouk, in front of the cultural center Ferid Ghazi and behind Saint Joseph Church, in what used to be the Maltese neighborhood.

History

It was built during the 16th century following the orders of

caïd Qaid ( ar , قائد ', "commander"; pl. '), also spelled kaid or caïd, is a word meaning "commander" or "leader." It was a title in the Norman kingdom of Sicily, applied to palatine officials and members of the ''curia'', usually to those ...

Ghazi Mustapha Bey. It was restored many times and eventually classified as a national historical monument.Salah-Eddine Tlatli, Djerba. L'île des Lotophages, éd. Cérès Productions, Tunis, 1967, p. 153

Architecture

The monument is small in size in comparison to other mosques. It has a sober architecture with white walls and a unique

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

. It has a big courtyard and large cistern to collect rainwater.

Rite

In the beginning, the mosque was the only one that followed the

hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...

rite, a rite of the royal family, the court and some Turkish families on the island. Later, this was converted to the

maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

rite.

Gallery

La Mosquée Turque9.JPG, Prayer room La Mosquée Turque7.JPG, Decoration of the mihrab La Mosquée Turque8.JPG, Library of the mosque La Mosquée Turque4.JPG, clocks for the prayer times

References

{{Mosques in Tunisia Mosques in Tunisia Medenine Governorate